I Will Follow You Into The Dark
by CoffeeForClosure
Summary: After losing her girlfriend, Wendy joins up with Rick's group as they fight for survival. Possible future pairing.


Her sharp, purple nails clawed into my shoulder as I barely managed to drag her along, "Please El, stay with me!" She vaguely moaned in response. "We're gonna get you some medicine and some water. Baby it's going to be alright, just stay with me."

We had run out of food five days prior and water one. I wasn't doing terrible; Eleanor on the other hand was weak, pale, and had been running a high fever for two days. She hadn't been bit as far as I knew but if we kept our current pace, we'd be goners real soon.

"Please" She grumbled. "I can't. Rest"

I gently placed her onto the ground. "I'll carry you if I have to!"

"Not strong enough" She closed her eyes and leaned back against a tree.

"I'll drag you along if I have to. We have to be near a town or a gas station or anything! We've been walking in these stupid woods forever!" I kicked the dirt and plopped down on the ground next to Eleanor. I lifted my hand to her forehead which was now hotter than before. "El, I'm scared. I know this entire situation is scary with the living dead and all but this is the most scared I've ever been. You've made me strong and what if," I stopped as tears began to well in my eyes. "What if I lose you?"

Her eyes snapped open, "I'm not going anywhere." She wrapped her arms around me. "Rest. I'll be on watch."

"But what if-"

She cut me off, "Rest!"

I snuggled into her side and quickly drifted off.

"Don't shoot!" I heard Eleanor's yell. "Wendy! Please, wake up!" She shook me as violently as she could in her weak state.

My eyes readjusted to the sun's brightness and that's when i saw the man with the rifle. "Oh, god!" I yelled and lifted my arms in surrender. "Please! We don't have anything for you to steal"

"I'm not here to steal anything from you," The man said in a thick Georgia accent. His beady eyes looked us over. "Her," He pointed the rifle at Eleanor. "Is she bit?"

"No," I pleaded. "She's just sick! She's running a high fever."

"That's a symptom of a walker bite."

"She's had the fever for a couple of days now. If she were bit she would've turned into a walker by now. Are you with a group? Do you guys have medicine?" I questioned.

"We've already got one sick kid; we're not looking to take in another."

"Please," I begged. "We just need medicine and we'll be out of your hair. I can work for it, I'd do anything!"

"Shane!" A man shouted, followed by footsteps. "We need you ba-" He stopped talking when he saw Eleanor and he started to pull his gun out of its holster.

"She's not bit!" I yelled. "She's just sick and she desperately needs medicine. Please, help her."

The man looked to Shane for a moment who just shook his head. "We can't just leave them out here."

"Yes we can! We already have to many mouths to feed. We can't take them back." The man, Shane, argued.

The other man had shaggy brown hair and was starting to grow a beard. "We'll take care of her but you'll have to help out." Shane groaned and glared at the man.

"Oh god, thank you!" I quickly got up and hugged the man. "Thank you so much!"

"Let's go!" They started to make their way back from where they came. I quickly helped Eleanor up and tried to catch up with them.

We walked through the forest for not very long until we reached an open field with a big white farm house at the end. "Oh my god" I whispered to Eleanor. "It's like the apocalypse never even touched this place."

"I'm Rick by the way." The shaggy haired man smiled at us. "And this is Shane." He gestured to the meaner, bald man.

"I'm Wendy and this is Eleanor."

"We have a makeshift doctor with us who'll do what he can to help her. Just stay away from the barn we have situation in there but we're taking care of it."

I slowly nodded. "Thank you so much!"

"Shane, go meet Daryl outside the barn. I'll bring them inside." We parted ways with Shane and Rick brought us past a group of tents and an RV into the large white house. "Hershel!" He led us up the stairs to a bedroom on the second story where an old man sat with a young girl.

The first thing I noticed was the bandages on her wrist. It didn't surprise me. I'd thought about doing it before too.

"Hershel, we found these girls in the woods. One is sick; can you take a look at her? They claim she isn't bitten."

Hershel stood from the bed and glanced at his daughter then he looked to me. "Would you mind sitting with my daughter while I help your friend?"

I nodded quickly. Rick took Eleanor, whose eyes were glazed over as she just stared off into the distance, off my shoulder and helped her into another room across the hall.

His daughter looked peaceful lying there, dreams being the only time you could get away from this shit storm. Her eyes flittered open and she frowned when she saw me. "Who are you?"

"Um, I'm Wendy..." I looked at my hands awkwardly. "Your dad asked me to sit with you while he's looking over my partner..." Her mouth formed an 'O' shape and she quickly hid her arms under the blanket.

"Wendy!" Rick yelled from the other room frantically. I quickly bolted in the room and covered my mouth in horror. "There was nothing we could do; she passed before we could help her."

Tears streamed down my face as I slowly made my way to her bedside. "El," I held her hand, "Oh god, please"

"I'll give you a moment," Hershel left the room but Rick stayed.

"No, this isn't the end." I sobbed, still clutching her cold; I felt her squeeze my hand in response. "El?" I looked up through my tears. She grumbled and tugged me towards her. Her eyes were vacant and pale white, completely absent of an iris. Time slowed as my hand was tugged closer to her gaping mouth; I couldn't find the power to pull away.

"Wendy! Get back!" Rick yelled and pulled me back so rougly I hit the wall. Time came rushing back to me, I shrunk to the ground and watched as Rick jammed a knife into my love's skull.

"No…" I whimpered out.

"Wendy," Rick knelt to my level "I'm sorry."

He reached out to touch my shoulder but I shrunk away from his rough hand. "How did it happen," I wiped the salty tears that dripped down my face. "She wasn't bit!" I yelled.

"You can't tell the others but we met a man once, a doctor for the CDC, his name was Edwin Jenner. The whole CDC situation was a mess but the last thing he told me was this: We're all infected. It's in our blood."


End file.
